I have acquired 5 panels that are from the 1980's they have a voc of around 11V and Isc of 1.65A. I want to keep a battery topped up and I am wondering what is the best approach.
5 in series results in a good voltage but borderline I/P voltage 50V for some charge controllers. Only going to use cheap so called mppt (most likely) pwm from china.
2 x 2 in parallel results in a more usable V and I but then I would need a separate solution to use the other panel. Maybe a buck converter feeding a cheap solar pwm ( to cut off charge).
Or could I use a boost reg and feed it all in parallel so 10V approx at 8A approx and convert it to (95% efficiency) say 26V and feed a solar charge controller for a 24V battery. Something like the mpt7210
I am only playing around as I am in Ireland we dont have great solar but after the hurricane I would love a way to keep some lights going off grid. I know I could buy new mono panels that would be more suited.